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Entries from July 29th, 2013

Oh I love a vintage fair, almost more than life to be honest, although car boots are pretty much becoming my obsession as of late with a little help from Emily and Amy from Berylune. I drove back yesterday after a manic 3 hours at our local car boot to see some pretty bunting and a large arrowed sign announcing the vintage fair at the pump rooms. It was organised by Vintage in the Shires and looks set to become an event which will happen every two months in Leamington wooohooo! I have to say these people have taste, the stall holders and the venue were a perfect combination and the weather helped as there was good turn out. I lusted after a blue, red and white decanter which I initially thought was £8 but turned out to be £28 which to be honest was a bargain but my pocket couldn’t stretch quite that far after my purchases at the car boot, although I do keep on thinking about it and how nice it would look on my mantlepiece, if its there the next time its mine. If you’d like to follow the fair or find out when it returns to Leamington why not follow their facebook page and get in touch. It’ll definitely be a date for my diary in October.

I’m just a little bit addicted my a beautiful mess app and since the weather has been so incredibly nice, I’ve been shooting my way around Britain with my iphone. Its a fun thing to do and I like the idea that in mid winter when the grey skies are constant that i’ll look back at this blog post and think we had a summer to remember. The ones which I remembered as a child, always being outside and wearing shorts, although I have to admit that for some reason I don’t seem brave enough to wear any of my summer clothes which I’d actually wear on holiday, the ultra violet Scottish legs being a constant in my life. Pale and interesting with lots of freckles would be how I’d describe myself. Anyway hope you enjoy seeing a little of Britain, the longest day was shot in Northumberland at an amazing vintage barn and champagne bar called The Old Dairy. A weekend spent in Teignmouth, Devon visiting friends. A sleep over at a friends in Edinburgh, Karen’s front door is literally on the sea at Trinity, if your at the Edinburgh Festival this year take a trip down to the coast its only a miles away from the city and finally a picture of the furtherest point from any sea in Britain in 30 degree heat Shipston on Stour but such an amazing landscape.

One of my favourite things is helping others get the most out of their camera so they can be proud of the images they make. It was a real treat when Alison from Hunkydory Home got in touch about a one to one photography workshop, I was more than a little excited as I love her online shop and the products she stocks. I’ve helped a number of lovely people get their online shops started as imagery is so important and can ultimately sell your products for you. Alison and I spoke on the phone a few times before my visit, her shop had been running for over 7 years and she has an amazing range but wanted some guidance on styling and using flash when the summer sun isn’t shining.

It was a great day, we spent the morning looking at how to use flash when the weather won’t allow to shoot with natural light, how she could use the space she has to take great product shots and the technical side to using her camera in manual mode as well as the importance of using a grey card to ensure colour accuracy. In the afternoon it was onto styling her products, I’ve spent lots of time styling shots myself and Alison has a great natural eye for individual products but needed help putting them into context. I’m a big advocate of always asking yourself where or how you’d use an object and then placing it in its own context as well as creating scenes. We managed a few different set ups which demonstrate both ‘in context’ and ‘scenes’ which Alison very kindly allowed me to use for this blog post.

It was a really fun day and Alison and I have kept in touch regularly, sending shots which she’s taken, and me given little tips and advice. It really important to me that once I’ve helped technically that there’s some way of building on what you’ve learnt. If you are interested in a one to one workshop or some advice about getting the best out of your products or would like me to take product shots for your online shop, get in touch, it would be lovely to hear from you.